THE SHOW
by Damuzachi
Summary: When a new nurse enters into True Cross Academy, the principal must learn to tread as lightly as possible, for the cast is now complete. As the curtain slowly rises and the lights daintly fade, the show is ready to begin. QUESTIONS? READ ON!
1. In The Beginning

**Hello fanfictioners! I'm back! Eesh!**

**Here's the list:**

**1) DISCLAIMER: ALL RIGHTS AND CONTENT OF AO NO EXORCIST IS OWNED AND CREATED BY NONE OTHER THAN KAZUE KATO!**

**2) This story is RATED T for mature language and intimacy.**

**3) Since there isn't enough room to list it in the story summary section, I'll say it here: There is an OC in this story.**

**4) This story is partially AU. Take from that what you will.**

**5) At the beginning of each chapter you will find recaps of the last chapter for your convenience.**

**6) Here's Chapter 1**

**ENJOY!**

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**Chapter 1: In the Beginning **

_She squinted her eyes in agony. The youthful female wasn't really given that much of a choice. The light surrounding her was so inconveniently bright she felt it would burn right through her skin. She could have sworn the light was literally breathing a hot white pressure. _

_As a result of the harshness made it very difficult to see any further into the wild beams. The presence was so broad and pounding like an entire orchestra with every single instrument playing with full force simultaneously. There wasn't very much else she could handle from it. The luminous existence could be felt literally pushing her body backwards from where she was…where was she?_

_She stood front and center of the wide open territory. The young woman was alone with not a peep or sign of other life around her. Thousands of thoughts built their own carnival ride in her mind. Why was she alone? Who on earth put her there? This didn't seem fair by her standards. Her heart raced viciously, hoping this would all end quickly. However, it nearly skipped a beat or two when a faint, ghostly voice could be heard creeping in the distance. The voice seemed to be swimming out of the band of brightness. _

_Instantaneous gibberish floated towards her ears with a drenching fuzziness, forcing her to temporarily question her own personal understanding of language. At this point, her mind was not benefiting her in any sort of way. An endless dose of confusion flowed inside of her. Though her brain was racing aggressively, the young female still felt she had no time to think as she watched the relentless light broaden like a nuclear cloud. Fear flushed over her as the gibberish noise began to transform with clarity. The female lowered her brows, trying to get at least a hint of what was being said. The utterance shifted in a direction much closer to hers, as if it wanted to intersect with her halfway._

_For a moment, she wished her ears would literally open up in some possible way, retrieving whatever satisfaction they longed for in understanding. Her wishes were granted when the fuzzy, static-like sound began shaving itself off of the voice._

"_Reeeulll Haaaahhh!" the voice pounded, insinuating anger. Reul Hah? What the hell was a Reul Hah? Her scattered mind had never heard of such a thing. As the female continued her next few moments trying to understand the meaning of the apparently nonsensical phrase, a quick, yet cruel resolution settled upon her. Her mind was a quick one, certainly to her own detriment at times. This occasion didn't imply that it would be any better either. __As the thought clashed in her head, understood exactly what that phrase meant. The thrashing voice soon followed to help confirm her horrifying conclusion._

"_KILL HER!" the voice screamed. The scream was so vicious, like snake venom. The ugliness formed around it forced a further palpitation of her heart. Still, none of it would prepare her for what would happen next. The young woman shifted her view from the light to the now moving platform on which she stood. The loud, present rays were so strong, she could see the intrusion of her lonely shadow waiting in anticipation beneath her. _

_Without warning, she could feel a great, unsettling disturbance within the space. An eerie feeling suddenly washed over her as her shadow faded into nonexistence. The growing fear pulsated abrasively through her fragile veins as the sound of metal chains rattling descended from above. The young woman shot her gaze back up into the celestial lucidity to see something lowering itself out of it. The chains shook with more intensity as the object grew close. The female was about to go on a journey of assumptions as she fronted her focus on her eyesight. Somewhere in her head she felt that, just maybe, she could sharpen her vision to see what was coming. To her petrifying surprise, her assumptions became null and void as she saw an enormous block of stainless steel the size of a small house dropping down right on top her._

_The female inhaled, readying for a scream but nothing escaped her lips. She was left voiceless as the weighty material slammed her body onto the platform where she once stood. __The sound of smashing flesh and crushing bones filled the air._

With great energy the female sprang to life as she longingly gasped for air.

"Everything alright, Miss Langer?" the driver of the vehicle asked with a concerned tone from the driver's seat. The young woman didn't answer right away as she was too busy regaining her sense of her surroundings. She had just experienced yet another unpleasant nightmare that would occur every now and then. The dreams also felt so real, so close that she could feel it in her skin. She would then blame herself for dosing off in the car for the third to fourth time. In actuality, it wasn't really her fault she was on such a lengthy, yet comfortable drive.

"Uh…um…y-yeah. I'm fine," she said blankly, her eyes were still blinking awake. The dream was now behind her, pushed far to the back of of her mind like usual. The car's internal spacing was a bit crammed, leaving only just enough room to move freely. The dark green leather seats made a loud squeak whenever she shifted, like they were talking to her.

As the young female finished settling into her full reality, she noticed a minute sting throbbing from her lower lip. Trying to remain as quiet as possible, the young woman carefully reached down to dig inside of her black vinyl handbag. After pulling out a small, red personal mirror, she slowly flipped it open and took a look at her reflection.

Searching for the source, she spotted a tiny crack in the skin of her plump lower lip. She figured it was probably from all of the dry air along the road. Sliding the tip of her tongue over the area, the sting persisted. The young woman then reached back into her handbag and pulled out a miniature tube of lip balm to sooth the minor wound. After semi-pampering herself, she examined her face to see if she looked presentable enough for the day ahead.

Her dark, cocoa-like skin had a rich tone and displayed the glow of a healthy adolescent female. Her milky brown, almond-shaped eyes were wide and looked fresh, as if they contained life themselves. The look of concern on her face didn't cease.

"How much longer? Until we're there?" the female asked timidly from the back seat of the car. The driver paused, leaving more to be desired.

"We're almost there," he answered calmly. This sort of response sparked a nervous energy inside of her. There was definitely something new up ahead;something that would give her memories that she would keep forever.

After carelessly throwing the mirror and lip balm back into her bag, the young woman to a glance out of the passenger window to see the small cities spread out below the highway. The vastness of the area gave her the sensation that she was flying in an airplane. The houses all looked like little pebbles laying just above the ground, as if you could just step on them. The female wondered just how many people populated such an area. As abundant as it looked, she guessed that it would be a pretty peaceful place to live, but what did she know? Her fantasies about escaping the car and living below were cut off when she finally saw where she was going. It was enormous.

"We're here," the driver spoke suddenly, "Welcome to True Cross."

In reality, he didn't even need to announce that they were there. The entire view spoke for itself before the young woman's eyes. It was like a mountain that had several cities growing protruding right out of it. There were so many roads leading in so many different directions, she felt that she would easily get lost in such a place. The couldn't stop gazing as the city looked as if it was growing larger by the second the closer they approached.

A bland amazement could be seen all over her face. Surely, she had seen it once before, but that was only in the brochure. Seeing it up close brought it to a whole new level. A simple photo simply couldn't compare. The young woman leaned in to get a better view of the great town when her attention was brought to the very peak of the volcanic city. There stood an extremely well-spaced, yet gaudy mansion. The springy, pastel color pattern was a bit eccentric for the female's taste but it gave a lot of information away to her.

At that point, there was really no need to wonder who's mansion it was, for her gut had already confirmed it for her. With that, the female swallowed her fascination and continued to sit in darkening silence for a few more minutes as the car made its way directly into the city. She was now here, on her mission, with no turning back.

"Miss Langer, you're destination waits. Just a few more minutes," the driver added cheerfully. A few more minutes? How about a few more hours? Days? Months? Years? Why now? She questioned herself inside as she exhaled. Why did she have to do this now? No matter how much she wanted to question it, it would be null and void. It was completely out of her control and it never was. This was were she was heading whether she liked it or not.

As a painful sign of acceptance, the young female slowly crept back into her squeaky leather seat. It was going to be a very long day.

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**I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Feedback is most certainly welcomed.**

**Chapter 2 on it's way!**

**STAY TUNED AND STAY AWESOME!**

**-J**


	2. Curtain

**Hello again!**

**Here's the list!**

**1) ****I want to thank you all for all the story alerts and reviews this story has received so far. It means a lot.**

**2) Here's Chapter 2**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**RECAP**

_"We're here," the driver spoke suddenly, "Welcome to True Cross."_

_In reality, he didn't even need to announce that they were there. The entire view spoke for itself before the young woman's eyes. It was like a mountain that had several cities growing protruding right out of it. There were so many roads leading in so many different directions, she felt that she would easily get lost in such a place. The couldn't stop gazing as the city looked as if it was growing larger by the second the closer they approached._

_A bland amazement could be seen all over her face. Surely, she had seen it once before, but that was only in the brochure. Seeing it up close brought it to a whole new level. A simple photo simply couldn't compare. The young woman leaned in to get a better view of the great town when her attention was brought to the very peak of the volcanic city. There stood an extremely well-spaced, yet gaudy mansion. The springy, pastel color pattern was a bit eccentric for the female's taste but it gave a lot of information away to her._

_At that point, there was really no need to wonder who's mansion it was, for her gut had already confirmed it for her. With that, the female swallowed her fascination and continued to sit in darkening silence for a few more minutes as the car made its way directly into the city. She was now here, on her mission, with no turning back._

_"Miss Langer, you're destination waits. Just a few more minutes," the driver added cheerfully. A few more minutes? How about a few more hours? Days? Months? Years? Why now? She questioned herself inside as she exhaled. Why did she have to do this now? No matter how much she wanted to question it, it would be null and void. It was completely out of her control and it never was. This was were she was heading whether she like it or not._

_As a painful sign of acceptance, the young female slowly crept back into her squeaky leather seat. It was going to be a very long day._

**Chapter 2: Curtain**

As the car entered into True Cross Town, time immediately began ticking at a much slower speed. All of the sound around the female seemed to slip away in a cheating manner, like being in a surreal bubble of airlessness. For the next creeping moment, she felt as if she was having difficulty breathing, her body momentarily unstable. Unfortunately, it was enough to be of outward concern.

"Miss Langer? Is everything alright?" the driver asked through the thin upper mirror hanging down from the ceiling of the car. His old, pale, wrinkled face looked strangely distorted through the reflection, making her feel even more uncomfortable.

"Yes, I'm fine," the female jerked, snapping back into the realness of it all. The driver didn't notice too much but she had been battling with her inner self the entire car ride and she knew that from this point on she would have to finally get it together. There could be no signs of weakness, for if she made just one wrong move, things would end rather quickly. That was not a desirable conclusion.

In an effort to get out of her own personal slump, the young woman reached out, stretched her arms, and rotated her waist. A few cracks were heard, which was unexpected. However, she didn't let it distract her. In the next ten seconds, her life would begin a major transition. The warm sunlight crept through the window from above and the female closed her eyelids, using it as a healing experience of finally letting go.

On her own count, she took another deep breath in. After holding it for ten whole seconds, the air escaped her nostrils right when the car made its last turn towards her final destination. Without warning, her eyes were met with the endless site of children everywhere. She felt like she was staring right at a herd of sheep except there were significantly more sheep than she had expected. Trying not to get caught rejecting the new energy facing her, the female rolled down the passenger window.

The volume from outside increased instantly, as if someone turned on a soundtrack. There was screaming, laughter, chatter, nonsense, playing, and everything else involved with being a pre-teen or teenager; so many kids stepping out of their cars with so many bags of luggage. That's when she could see the patterns she had learned about before.

Quite a few of the children were dressed differently. A few of the younger females sported short, neat plaited pink skirts accompanied with white short-sleeved school shirts and ties. Upon observation, a select group of the students looked a bit older in age. Their attire was almost identical except their skirts, pants, and ties displayed a dark blueish color. It was kind of amusing to see all of them dispersed around in such organized chaos like a colony. The female studied some of the young faces standing about, the excitement flushed through their cheeks.

Her point of interest shifted as the car approached a huge entrance railed with a mammoth-sized jet black gate that had been open so students could travel through to their registration tables. The vehicle had come to a complete stop.

"Alright, Miss Langer, you have arrived. Wenton should be here in about five minutes. Let me help you gather your luggage," the driver said as he put the gear into park mode. The gentleman then opened his door and stepped out. The female took a timid glance out of the window once more before reluctantly following his lead.

As her black two-inch boots felt the hard pavement beneath, she could feel the new world that she was stepping into. A warm, welcoming breeze kissed her face as she lifted herself from the car. As she followed the driver to the back of the vehicle, her eyes took on the beautiful campus before her.

The lovely creme-colored buildings formed a metropolis or sorts, towering high and low as navy blue window linings wrapped around the architectures like candied icing. From the female's point of view, it all looked quite edible. The sunlight brought out the intriguing squarish design engraved into the pavement beneath her. Branches of the nearby trees rubbed together as the wind picked up, making a snapping noise.

The sound of the trunk popping open centered her focus as she reached it. As the driver retrieved her luggage from the truck, the female checked in with herself again to make sure she looked appropriate enough. Her fitted, turquoise sweater favored her womanly shape while her stretch dark brown leggings left plenty of modesty.

The driver let out a huff of fatigue as he moved her luggage over to the walking path. Several vehicles could be seen rolling in all around them so he had to move quickly.

"Thank you," the female said courteously, attempting to stay graceful.

"You are very welcome, Miss Langer," the driver replied in a friendly tone. Standing up straight, he paused for a moment and simply looked at her. As her shy characteristics flared, the female wanted to know just what exactly his green eyes were staring at. Her belly churned as the awkward silence paid them a visit. Before she could think, she felt the driver's hand gently rest on her shoulder. Her eyebrows lifted to the skies at the unannounced gesture.

"Good luck, Miss Langer," he said, adding a light pat. Once again, she was reminded of her objective. A heavy brush of wind swooped down upon them, rushing through her thick, kinky locs, presenting itself as eerily as an omen.

"Thank you," she muttered blankly. Why would she smile for that? She forced herself to anyway. The driver then tilted his black driver's hat before turning and walking back to the car. The female stood there helpless as she watched the driver reenter the vehicle and drive off, know that there was a great chance that she would probably never see him ever again.

She felt so alone as the air played her features. More students packed the area with their conversations as the crowd moved along. As she remained, she sort of wished she could trade spots with them. The young innocence of it all seemed so appealing.

The younglings all gave off a carefree energy she wished she could swallow in dozens of capsules. The atmosphere was so alive, though somewhere deep down inside, there was that perpetual signal telling her she was walking right to her death.

"Langer? Zori? Zori Langer?" a strong male voiced articulated through the crowd. The female's head jolted at the very mentioning of her first name. This whole time everybody was so damn formal with her. She hated it. It wasn't like it was going to make the situation any better.

"Yes?" she responded in confirmation to the tall male now standing in front of her.

"Ah! So you made it. Welcome. My name is Servelle Wenton, chief knight of the 4th corridor suites," the man announced as he extended his hand forward. Servelle looked to be only a few inches above six feet tall, though he towered over the female's average 5'6 frame. His hair was a dark chestnut brown that complimented his eyes of the same color. His focused, yet wise face looked to be about forty years-old.

"Nice to meet you," Zori replied as she reached out and shook his hand. His long black, trench coat demanded authority as it was covered in several different patches and pins.

"I will be your escort and tour guide during your stay here at True Cross. Right now I will be showing you where you to your room. If I may ask, do you have all of your registration paperwork with you?" he delivered directly.

"Y-yes, I do," Zori added, caught off guard by the question.

"Good to hear," Wenton went on, "right this way."

From there, the two of them headed through the enormous gated entrance and onto official Academy grounds. Zori was bit overwhelmed by the amount of children swarming around her. They kept flocking to and fro like birds providing endless babble. Looking back towards her, Wenton was a bit entertained by the young woman's facial expressions.

"I know. It takes some getting used to. Don't worry, you will be an expert at moving through all of this in no time," he said jokingly. Zori tried to at least let out a chuckle, seeing that he was trying to put in an effort to break the ice.

"I hope so," she let out as she followed behind him. The school grounds were so spacious and grand, like several colleges and universities all packed together into one school. The walking paths were gorgeous, hosted by a variety of species of flowers. The grass was so neatly cut, Zori swore to herself that it was artificial turf. The children scurried about the paths, trying to find their own rooms and touring zones for classrooms. It took at least fifteen minutes for them to make their way to the Southern side of campus. Zori took in more of the beautiful sights until her attention shifted to the colossal building in front of her.

"Here we are," Wenton spoke again, "the South Wing."

Judging by the front, the South Wing towered at least seven stories high with two main doors centered in the very front joined by several lilac flower beds formed in between. The grandness of it all gave off the feeling that it was a hotel. Moving her focus in quite a peculiar manner, Zori's eyes traveled downward to the very bottom corners of the building to see what looked like a subtle scrim running along the buildings lower foundation. Looking harder, she had realized that what she was actually looking at was a rather immense yet, discreet protection barrier running across the bottom edge of the building.

"Such precise vision," Wenton expressed in an impressed tone. Zori shot her head up to him, not aware he was watching her.

"I see you've been well trained, especially for that to catch your eye so quickly," he added.

Not feeling too impressed with herself, the female shrugged humbly before trailing him inside main front doors. Once inside, the two of them headed towards the elevator, which was down the hall directly in front of them. As they walked, Zori peeked at everything like a curious child. The rug beneath them was a nice velvet burgundy, giving off a royal undertone that ran up the creme-beige walls like delicious red velvet cake. Just thinking about it made her hungry. Upon reaching the elevator, they stepped inside and took it up to floor five. The motor on this particular elevator had them there in no time. Stepping out, they were led down another long hallway.

"You will be staying in room 505. You can take the rest of the day to rest. You're probably tired from the drive," he said. His voice suggested a knowing undertone not unlike her driver's.

"I appreciate that," Zori replied as she cleared her throat. Such an observation spiked her interest and she figured that there was possibly something we wasn't telling her.

"Um…do you-"

"Yes, I do know. I know all about you," Wenton interrupted. As the words slammed her ears, the woman could feel weights in her chest. He knew too?

"It is my duty to make sure that you have everything you need to complete your task," he went on. By this point, the two of them had finally reached room 505. Wenton set down Zori's luggage before reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a small key.

After sticking it into the keyhole, he turned the knob and opened the door. At first sight, the room was fairly sizable yet casual. Red velvet colors were manifested everywhere Zori looked, trying her hunger. An elegant queen-sized bed was placed in the back corner of the room, giving it a more modern feel. Towards the center of the room was a sofa the color of coffee milk assisted by a dark, oak reading table with plenty of writing utensils already prepared as if the room itself was ready to work. The tall male turned towards the young woman once more before extending his hand again.

"Here is your key. There is a coffee room down the hall in case you desire any refreshments. I will be back in the morning to escort you to the faculty registration office. If there is anything else you need, do not hesitate to inform me. My number is in your bag. Until then, I will see you tomorrow," the man spoke, his voice tugging between gentleness and firmness.

"Thank you, again," Zori said politely. With that, Wenton made a 180-degree turn into the opposite direction before heading back down the hall. Zori watched as the male's back grew further and further away. Then he was gone. She was alone again, back in her trapped world.

The female took another deep breath in and out before quietly closing her door. The intense pounding of her heart forces her to keep her composure, should she fall. Caution was apparent as Zori took small steps toward the sofa where she laid down her bags. For a few seconds, she just sat there in silence. The burgundy clock hanging from the wall gave off a loud ticking. Gazing over towards it, she could see that it was now 1 o' clock in the afternoon. It was time. After what seemed like an endless excursion of looking at the floor, the female pushed her body up from the sofa. Walking over behind it, she waved one of her arms into the air.

"With haste!" she demanded somewhat loudly. Immediately a celestial beam of light appeared, engulfing the entire sofa. Zori then walked over and seated herself again, sanctioning that the appropriate barrier was now in place. Feeling the power of the energy around her, she reached into her bag and took out a chic white cell phone as well as a copy of the brochure of the academy. Flipping open the brochure, the female used her other hand to dial an unknown number and let it ring. The clock on the wall could be heard ticking in between each ring, like a bomb about to explode. Zori's heart remained steady until she heard a familiar voice answer the other line instantly.

"Miss Langer?" an elderly female voice answered. Zori felt a coldness cut through her insides.

"Yes," Zori replied.

"I take it you've made it in," the woman said.

"Yes."

The voice then paused suddenly. There was a piercing silence in her bedroom. All that could be heard was the relentless ticking of the clock. Zori had a feeling of what would come next.

"Miss Langer, do you remember your assignment?"

As she anticipated, the question arose.

"Yes," she answered calmly, trying to keep it together.

"And what is your…objective in this assignment?"

The young female froze for a few seconds before speaking. She could feel the weight of the room leaning on her. She would rather say she had no assignment at all, but alas, she couldn't.

"To…kill…Mephisto Pheles," she replied, her voice nearly choking.

"And what do you…really mean…when you say that?" the woman persisted. Zori felt like she was in prison, the clock on the wall beating into her ears. Yet, she tried her best to remain gathered.

"I mean…I was sent here…to kill…to kill…Samael, second in line from Satan," she clarified, her breath nearly gone.

"That is correct," the woman followed. Another cruel moment of silence lived, the clock on the wall thrashing like cymbals.

"Are you ready?" the woman asked unexpectedly. Zori nearly choked on her own saliva. Zori had to lie.

"Yes," she complied, wanting the phone call to just hurry up and end right now.

"Miss Langer…are you ready?" the woman questioned once more with a stern tone. Zori could feel her eyes welling up nice and moisture from the sudden torture. She didn't ask for any of this.

"Yes…I am ready," she let out, still trying not to release any emotion over the line.

"Good," the woman simply said, hanging up the phone afterwards with no courtesy whatever.

**::**

Meanwhile, just five stories below, hidden within the generous bushes sat a small dog with fluffy whitish hair. The German terrier's dark green eyes suggested that there was much more than met the eye. Completely unnoticed by the other students, the dog seemed to be staring directly up toward Zori's bedroom window. On someone's particular radar, she had been discovered.

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**I think I may want to take this story to such fun places. Feedback is welcomed as it always is.**

**As of now, I'm just going to have fun and write.**

**You all STAY TUNED AND STAY AWESOME!**

**-J **


	3. Ready

**Hello again fabulous readers! How's everything? Here's the list!**

**1) I want to thank you all for any story alert adds and reviews so far. You guys rock!**

**2) I went back to do a little re-editing of Chapters 1 and 2- feel free to check it out if you want!**

**3) Here's Chapter 3**

**ENJOY!**

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**RECAP**

_"Miss Langer, do you remember your assignment?"_

_As she anticipated, the question arose._

_"Yes," she answered calmly, trying to keep it together._

_"And what is your…objective in this assignment?"_

_The young female froze for a few seconds before speaking. She could feel the weight of the room leaning on her. She would rather say she had no assignment at all, but alas, she couldn't._

_"To…kill…Mephisto Pheles," she replied, her voice nearly choking._

_"And what do you…really mean…when you say that?" the woman persisted. Zori felt like she was in prison, the clock on the wall beating into her ears. Yet, she tried her best to remain gathered._

_"I mean…I was sent here…to kill…to kill…Samael, second in line from Satan," she clarified, her breath nearly gone._

_"That is correct," the woman followed. Another cruel moment of silence lived, the clock on the wall thrashing like cymbals._

_"Are you ready?" the woman asked unexpectedly. Zori nearly choked on her own saliva. Zori had to lie._

_"Yes," she complied, wanting the phone call to just hurry up and end right now._

_"Miss Langer…are you ready?" the woman questioned once more with a stern tone. Zori could feel her eyes welling up nice and moisture from the sudden torture. She didn't ask for any of this._

_"Yes…I am ready," she let out, still trying not to release any emotion over the line._

_"Good," the woman simply said, hanging up the phone afterwards with no courtesy whatever._

_**::**_

_Meanwhile, just five stories below, hidden within the generous bushes sat a small dog with fluffy whitish hair. The German terrier's dark green eyes suggested that there was much more than met the eye. Completely unnoticed by the other students, the dog seemed to be staring directly up toward Zori's bedroom window. On someone's particular radar, she had been discovered._

**Chapter 3: Ready**

He was focused, well fairly focused in his own little unique way. He didn't really have it in him to care about anything enough to be extra focused, but he still had a lot of things to get done. The new school year was just about to begin and he had to keep tabs on quite a few endeavors.

Despite his obvious concern for tracking Rin Okumura, his half-human younger brother who just so happened to be a student at True Cross Academy, he had much more baggage than that on his several greasy plates. There was the war between earthly Assiah and hellish Gehenna, which was getting ever so tiring in his dark-circled eyes.

Though he was very keen on never letting anyone discover what he was truly thinking or how he was truly feeling, he had to be quite honest with himself. He needed a vacation from it all just like the humans did.

Sure, he kept up his sometimes annoyingly ecstatic composure much more easily than that of his human counterparts, but he didn't like running around endlessly like he was on some sort of mechanical fuel. Yes, demons were stronger, had much more stamina, much more endurance, much more agility, and notably more power; but the main area the two species joined in commonality was life.

He understood in all his hundreds of years that, if you weren't careful, life would end up beating you any day, no matter who you were. He himself had seen it all: demons killed by their own quests and ambitions, as well as humans too busy destroying each other to move forward. Anything could happen. So, though he sported that carefree look on his face 99.9 percent of the time, even he had to gauge himself.

It was now 5 o' clock in the evening and it had been a very busy day that didn't seem to be over yet. The sun was nearly out of sight as the moon gave in to its full presence as if it was resurrected.

As he sat in his big, pink, heart-shaped chair and settled into the peaceful emptiness of his office, he took it upon himself to slurp on a measly cup of hot ramen noodles and nothing else. He didn't even feel the least bit pathetic because of this. He actually enjoyed ramen noodles, a lot.

It was his favorite go-to snack. But that's all it was, a snack, not a real meal. In fact, he tried to recall the last time he had savored a delicious full-course meal. Unfortunately, he could not remember. That's when it hit him. His original flare was going, going, going, going, damn near gone and he needed to refuel. He just couldn't pinpoint how.

The lifelike cuckoo clock hanging from his office's silky red velvet walls breathed inward and outward literally as the seconds rolled by, as if there was someone's soul trapped inside.

Without much anticipation, the demon took a glance downward towards his cup to see that his noodles were all gone. A small sigh of disappointment escaped his lips as he longed for another cup, but his own personal break time was up. With that, he his lips formed into a smirk. His time had slipped away, just like that.

The entire realization was rather contradictory since he was none other than Samael, the demon king of time. He could have easily halted time at his own will so that he could enjoy endless hours of noodles. But, once again, life in Assiah had grown on him and his own subtle sense of anxiousness simply wouldn't allow him to do it.

His desire was that he would finish all of his to-dos quickly. From a demon's perception it was a pitiful sight. Amaimon, his other younger brother, would definitely comment on it if he was there in his office with him.

He dusted the thought away as he raised his arm into the space above. With the sharp snap of his long, limber fingers, the empty ramen cup disappeared without a trace left behind.

That particular function touched yet another area resting inside of him, an area that wished it could make everything and everyone around him just vanish. If only for a small minute pebble of time, he would gain a chance to breathe. An odd blankness settled into his pale, white face at the conclusion of such a thing being impossible.

A quiet irritation entered and exited without notice as he folded his legs, patting down his white suit jacket thoroughly. His deep emerald eyes followed cue as he turned his objective view to the heavy stack of papers place on the desk in front of him. Years as the principal of the academy had surely left him updated on any and everything involved with such a position. This was no different.

Not wanting to fumble around any further, the demon reached down and began working through the papers. At first glance, both his verification and signature were required for all the past year reviews and reports submitted by current faculty members.

As he went on to write, he raised his free hand yet again. The gray stereo remote from across the room daintily hovered into his direction. Upon catching it, the demon pressed his thumb against the 'power' button, causing the iconic sound of pop music to erupt from his surround stereo sound system. The music maintained him as this was just the type of atmosphere he needed to get his work done swiftly.

Ten minutes slowly crept by as the ball point pen glided its way to the next paper. He was on a roll as he had just finished all of the reviews and change proposal reports. As the music blared, the demon did a quick check-in, spotting that he was about halfway finished.

His void of expression remained as he scanned the last of the papers before him. The remnants consisted of the list of profiles for all of the new faculty members entering the school for the new school year.

With no second cognitions, he continued marking his signatures. Moving at his own steadiness, he noticed the relatively large amount of new faculty members entering the school. He couldn't say he didn't feel somewhat relieved, as he would need all the help he could get. It was appreciated.

The demon was strolling onto his last quarter set of papers, signing away. The infectious noise controlled his rhythm as he bobbed his head to the beat. Every now and then, he had to lift a finger to remove lone strands of his silky straight violet hair from his face. Completely in the zone of his own excellence, it looked as if he was barely lifting the papers.

The demon let the music guide him as he picked up the next profile in the list. He was just about to sign off nonchalantly when his eyes froze on the headshot photo of the faculty member in front of him.

The woman he had seen earlier that day, this was her profile. The view of her photo slammed into his consciousness like a bad dream. A frown plastered itself onto his features as he leaned over and picked up his stereo remote.

Upon silencing the music, the demon furrowed his brow with certain aggravation as he leaned back in his chair. Legs folded, he glared at the photo of the brown-skinned woman he had witnessed just hours prior. It was all returning so clearly to his psyche. As the day went on, he had pushed it to the far back ends of his mind, but he did remember following her. His inquisitive thinking pattern only made him curious as he noticed a strange disturbance within the barriers that were encamped about the academy.

As any other low-level or high-level demon would try to break through barrier walls, it would show up on his radar as the barriers would appear slightly faulty. However, in this case, the very opposite occurrence took place. Around 12 o' clock, the demon was busy entertaining a one on one meeting with the Vatican when his radar displayed an altercation in which the barriers appeared to be growing in size. It was something that only he could see, and he had seen it twice before.

"Hm," the demon expressed lifelessly, reaching up and mildly caressing his miniature goatee. Underneath the woman's head shot, he located her name: Zori Langer, a new member of the nursing department. As he read further down her description, he was deciphering within himself whether or not any this information was actually true.

Earlier, as he rushed to cram in the little time that he had to trail hastily around campus as a small pup, he tried to retain his secretive prancing among the students. The demon was astonished beyond believe to see that all of that energy disrupting the barriers could be traced to one single woman. Again, he had observed it in the past about a hundred years prior, except it involved an entire group of people.

In the beginning, it was in his speculations that the Vatican was behind it all. After doing quite a bit of grunge research of his own, his speculation had been proven false. While the Vatican had absolutely no shame in expressing their distrust towards him, they only maneuvered by their own standards. If they truly desired that he be killed then they would have long done it already.

Crossing out that last possible factor, the demon went on to consider any contact or activity from the Illuminati organization. He partially clenched his teeth as he felt the sensation of his belly twisting like tree bark. Turning over the idea, he did have a few ties too many with such a heavy group based on personal matters.

Then he considered his own impeccable insight once more, his seeking eyes wandering about the office. Whatever spies the Illuminati had on report within True Cross Academy, he usually would find out some way upfront.

Besides, in all of his years, he had never seen the Illuminati send spies with such energy as this woman and others before her had. Long ago, he had dealt with an entire group that had found a way to corner him in one of the cram school classrooms. His memory half-jaded, he reminisced faintly about the secure look on all of their faces as he closed in on him. Judging by their looks, he couldn't tell them apart from any other faculty members on sight.

He was at a loss for putting up a fight. They had all somehow locked his powers down. He couldn't move, he couldn't call for other exorcists to assist him, he could do nothing. As usual, the demon kept his infamously cool, calm, and collected stance as he struggled to think of a plan. He had even made a great attempt to stop time itself, only for it to fail. This peculiar group of people possessed an extraordinarily unusual power that, in some way, overlapped his own.

The demon found himself squinting his own eyes as he pushed within himself, trying to remember more details of the situation. He could see the celebratory expressions on their faces as he was stuck frozen in place.

"_It is done!" one of the men yelled victoriously, "the King of Time now stands before us…helpless!"_

There was a tiny penetration in his ego that jolted like a piercing knife.

"_And he shall die, for he shall suffer for the things that he has done," an elderly woman from the group spoke as she slowly stepped towards him. There was a disgusted tone underneath it all as her powdery white hair flowed about. When she was close enough, she reached out and softly touched the skin of his forehead._

"_And you shall rot in the fires of Gehenna…for that is where you belong," she declared. _

It was difficult for the demon to recall just how he felt back then, during what he felt like were his last moments in Assiah. The only feelings coming up were that of relief, for right when he was about to die, every one vanished instantly. The classroom was empty and that was all his memory could conjure up.

The demon was ready to send exorcists on a quest to do research on such a group, but he was left with no evidence or traces. He would not dare take it to the Vatican, lest they think he was setting a trap of some sort for them. Even his demonic minions were having trouble finding any available leads. Alas, with much disappointment, all he could do was let it go while pretending nothing had taken place.

The memory of it all floated far away over the next hundred years, as more interesting things would catch his attention. With the birth of Rin Okumura and the long fifteen year journey for his powers to finally arise, there was much more to keep watch over. Rin was closing in on becoming sixteen years of age; his immature drive to become a great exorcist and his disdain for demons was more than enough to hold.

The demon let one of his fangs down gently onto his lower lip as his mind whisked back to the present.

"Hm," he let out once more as he reassessed this Zori Langer person's photograph. Despite the compelling amount of beauty radiating from this woman, he understood that eventually she would come for him. Not wanting to waste any more time, he figured he would have to figure out just how he was going to go along with this. It would be foolish up him to confront her so soon. No. He would hold off on such a burden.

Then suddenly, a grin sprouted about his face as a devilish idea swooned him over.

"Very well…Miss Langer," the demon spoke aloud to himself, "I see you have come here to play games."

A distinctive dark wave of excitement washed over his countenance as he raised her photo up to meet his face at eye level.

"I am one who happens to thoroughly enjoy games and I will say that I certainly do not mind playing with you. But be well aware that we shall see whose game lasts until the very end. I wonder...who will win," the demon leaked through his teeth, his own declaration of war ascending. He most definitely was not going to let this damsel off so easily.

"Nathaniel!" the demon's voice rose. Before he could blink, his assistant's blonde-haired head could be seen poking through his office door like a curious animal.

"Yes, Sir Pheles," the pale-skinned, blue eyed male answered hastily. Mephisto enjoyed the lingering reinforcement of his own authority, which only made him feel even better about his proposal.

"May you please schedule a meeting with the recreation and festival committee for me right away? And can you tell everyone that Johann Faust is planning the first annual True Cross Academy Welcoming Festival?" the demon asked cheerfully in a telling tone as he leaned over his desk. Nathaniel's brow lifted high with enthusiasm.

"Right away, Sir Pheles, though I do have to ask, isn't it a little early in the school year to be hosting such an extravagant event?" Nathaniel quizzed politely, knowing when to stay in his place. Mephisto simply blinked his emerald peeps with a warm smile.

"In all honesty, I simply cannot think of a better time to have such an event. Oh, how it will be the perfect time for the students to get to know each other. It will be quite the ice breaker with plenty of delicious food, entertainment, fundraisers…I just feel that this will bring out the academy's rich culture and tradition with a celebration for everyone to see…now if you please, inform the others. I want to have flyers up by morning," the demon expounded articulately with his typical charm.

"Right away, Sir," Nathanial replied with a bow before exiting the office. With that, Mephisto leaned back into his chair, a sense of accomplishment falling off of him. A public event; what a brilliant plan and the perfect way to get in close. All he had to do was play his game. As his barbed fangs ran themselves across the very tips of his prickly, yet freshly manicured raven nails, he fixed his gaze on the woman in question once again.

"Okay…Miss Langer," he cooed, "let the show…begin!"

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. Feedback is most certainly welcomed!**

** I'm still going in a bit blind. Bare with me :)**

**I'm trying to get Mephisto down the best that I can. **

**Anyways, you guys are so great!**

**STAY TUNED AND STAY AWESOME!**

**-J**


	4. Set

**Hello again peeps! Here's the list!**

**1) I'm not sure if this chapter is short or not :/**

**2) I want to thank you all for all of the story alert adds, reviews, views, and hits this story has received so far. You guys are amazingly amazing and you keep me writing!**

**3) Here's Chapter 4**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**RECAP**

_"Very well…Miss Langer," the demon spoke aloud to himself, "I see you have come here to play games."_

_A distinctive dark wave of excitement washed over his countenance as he raised her photo up to meet his face at eye level._

_"I am one who happens to thoroughly enjoy games and I will say that I certainly do not mind playing with you. But be well aware that we shall see whose game lasts until the very end. I wonder...who will win," the demon leaked through his teeth, his own declaration of war ascending. He most definitely was not going to let this damsel off so easily._

_"Nathaniel!" the demon's voice rose. Before he could blink, his assistant's blonde-haired head could be seen poking through his office door like a curious animal._

_"Yes, Sir Pheles," the pale-skinned, blue eyed male answered hastily. Mephisto enjoyed the lingering reinforcement of his own authority, which only made him feel even better about his proposal._

_"May you please schedule a meeting with the recreation and festival committee for me right away? And can you tell everyone that Johann Faust is planning the first annual True Cross Academy Welcoming Festival?" the demon asked cheerfully in a telling tone as he leaned over his desk. Nathaniel's brow lifted high with enthusiasm._

_"Right away, Sir Pheles, though I do have to ask, isn't it a little early in the school year to be hosting such an extravagant event?" Nathaniel quizzed politely, knowing when to stay in his place. Mephisto simply blinked his emerald peeps with a warm smile._

_"In all honesty, I simply cannot think of a better time to have such an event. Oh, how it will be the perfect time for the students to get to know each other. It will be quite the ice breaker with plenty of delicious food, entertainment, fundraisers…I just feel that this will bring out the academy's rich culture and tradition with a celebration for everyone to see…now if you please, inform the others. I want to have flyers up by morning," the demon expounded articulately with his typical charm._

_"Right away, Sir," Nathanial replied with a bow before exiting the office. With that, Mephisto leaned back into his chair, a sense of accomplishment falling off of him. A public event; what a brilliant plan and the perfect way to get in close. All he had to do was play his game. As his barbed fangs ran themselves across the very tips of his prickly, yet freshly manicured raven nails, he fixed his gaze on the woman in question once again._

_"Okay…Miss Langer," he cooed, "let the show…begin!"_

**Chapter 4: Set**

The sun's rays zapped through the thin lining of the curtains hanging from the windows in Zori's room. All was silent until the unrehearsed sound of knocking could be heard coming from the door. Zori lied across her bed motionless, completely immersed in a peaceful dreamland. As the knocking persisted, the noise finally gained enough momentum to reach her consciousness.

Sprouting awake, the woman hopped out of bed in her blue, cotton pajamas before scurrying to answer the door. Upon opening it, she was a bit surprised to see her escort, Servelle Wenton, standing before her in full uniform. The man watched her sleepy, yet confused facial expressions take form.

"Have you forgotten, Miss Langer? You must have your registration papers turned in by noon. I figured it is best for you to get it out of the way now so that you will have enough time to tour the campus afterwards," Wenton explained, with no greeting. Another reminder had settled in, piercing her.

On the previous day, she had spent the entire evening studying the school brochure and information pamphlet let under her bed about all the people who had any sort of close-encountered relationship with Mephisto. There were a healthy amount of names on the list.

There was a student by the name of Rin Okumura, his supposed twin Yukio Okumura, Shura Kirigakure, Igor Neuhaus, as well as a few other names. Under each name was a small photograph complimented by a brief description of each person.

One of Zori's main assignments was to memorize the list so that she would know how to find them and potentially weave her way to find more information. As a result of being up all night, she ended up waking way later than usual.

Zori hastily pressed back and forth in her room as she slipped out of her pajamas and into more appropriate clothes. Avoiding complexity, the woman replaced her nightwear with a simply fitted white, long-sleeved sweater and comfortable black corduroys along with matching white loafers. She pulled her kinky locked mane back and upward into a high ponytail.

When she opened the door again, Wenton's eyes widened a little at how fresh she looked. In that moment, he could have sworn he felt a small dosage of energy seep through. From his point of view, it was quite exhilarating.

"Well…Miss Langer, shall we go?" Wenton let out, turning towards the hallway. Zori trailed behind him, handbag and folder of paperwork in hand.

**::**

True Cross Academy's Nursing Department rested on the further east side of the school grounds. The walk wasn't too long and was quite pleasant. The weather was just right in temperature, a nice and balanced 75 degrees. Looking up towards the sky, she could see puffy white clouds hovering just above the upper levels of the area, as if she was walking to the heavens. It made her feel different.

Today was the first official day of registration for the True Cross students. The two of them made their way through a horde of adrenaline laced adolescents. As they walked, Zori couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth around her. It was coming from all of the students.

She had noticed it the day before but only as innocence. As she watched all of the children mingle amongst each other, she could see their personalities shining through and, for some reason, it made her smile. It was a genuine smile at that. It only took about another five minutes until they reached a building that looked very much like a hospital.

The outside paint displayed a dull, grayish color as the entire front area appeared to be swallowed up by thick dark green vines. Upon stepping closer towards the main glass doors, Zori noticed Wenton stop. Turning towards him, she pondered with her eyes why.

"Alright…Miss Langer, this is where I let you go. I am only to escort you to the actual location. You will go in alone from here on. Once you are done with registration, come right back to this location to meet with me and we will begin your official tour of the campus," Wenton spilled, stern voice and all.

"Yes, Sir," Zori replied, knowing her instructions. Questioning authority was not a big trait on her part. She was always used to just doing what she was told.

"I will be back to meet with you in one hour. That should give you more than enough time to get everything handled. I'll see you in a bit," the man stated before turning to walk off.

Zori watch his back once again as it grew far from her. She then panned her gaze back to the glass doors in front of her. As she stood there looking quite dumbfounded, two other women in conversation stepped by her and entered into the building.

"Nice to meet you too…uh registration is this way," she overheard one of the women say as the door closed. With that, Zori picked up speed as she followed them inside. The smell of freshly mixed antiseptics filled her nostrils, bringing her back to her childhood. The woman nearly lost her balance as the image of her father's face flashed through her mind.

Before she realized it, the two women she was following had hit the corner. Careful in her loafers, she lifted her feet in a moderate jog to catch up. The hallways and corridors of the building made it seem like a long gray, endless maze. The two women kept walking all the way down until they made a left turn into another hallway. About halfway down, Zori could see a window with a counter attached. The two women slowed their speed before one of them stepped into the already formed line before them.

"I'll see you later!" one of the women said before stepping into the nearby office across from it. With her surety half intact, Zori glanced upward above the window to see a sign with the words "Nursing Faculty Registration" plastered across it. In great confirmation, she took a step forward to join the line, making her the fourth person.

As she waited, she figured it was best to pull out her paperwork and review it to make sure that all of the information was correct. With a subtle peace, she reached down and pulled out her folder. Upon flipping it open and examining what was inside, she could see movement in her peripheral coming from one of the open rooms behind her.

In instinctive curiosity, Zori turned around to see a young girl sitting on top of an exam bed waiting. Before she could blink, their eyes met and an initial, yet unsolicited spark had popped. The young girl looked to be no older than fourteen or fifteen with short, strikingly blonde hair, aqua green eyes, whitish skin, and a sensitive face. As some of the other children Zori had seen, this young girl wore a light pink plaited skirt as well as a white buttoned school shirt and black tie with wildly colored stripes.

Zori didn't realize she was staring in such a manner, neither did the girl. Finally snapping out of it, the young girl gave a tremendously sweet smile and waved timidly in her direction. Zori's reaction was almost automatic as she smiled and waved, which was mesmerizing as she had never done that before with such sincerity.

"Next," a female voice from the counter said. Apparently, the encounter slowed time so severely Zori didn't realize that the line had been cut short. Snapping back to the task at hand, she took another step forward as she handed her paperwork to the woman on the other side of the window.

For a moment, she stood in silence, feeling the gaze of the young blonde girl behind her as the woman in front of her looked through her papers. Zori's eyes slowly turned down towards her toes before she was asked a question.

"Where's Lawson Way?" the woman in the window asked in a friendly tone. Zori's head shot up.

"Oh…um," she started.

"It says here you're from Lawson Way. Is that a city? How far out is it?" the woman quizzed, an innocent quest in her eyes.

"It's pretty far," Zori answered vaguely, "about 400 miles out."

"Wow, you came far," the woman expressed. Zori simply smiled. The woman then continued to do a few things that Zori assumed was needed to complete her paperwork. The printer in the back area of the room sprang on with an aggressive noise, much to Zori's interest.

The woman then stood up, walked over to the printer, picking up two small sheets and incasing them in thin plastic covers.

The woman then made her way back towards the front counter.

"Alright…Miss Langer, what I have here is your faculty number card along with your faculty name badge. Try your best to keep these on you at all times, however, if you were to ever lose either of them, please feel free to come back here so you can have them reprinted. We will be having our next twenty minute orientation meeting in lecture hall 56 which is three doors down on your right. We will start in about ten minutes and we hope to see you there. Welcome to True Cross," the woman spewed with a grin, handing her the badge and card.

"Thank you," Zori replied politely before slipping them into her handbag. Prepped to go, she turned around to see the young girl still sitting there smiling. She could feel a very soothing energy flowing from her, forcing her lips to curl upwards once again.

Initiating the gesture this time, Zori timorously waved her goodbye before slowly walking towards the lecture hall room. Her loafers whispered quietly as she approached the already opened door. Peeking inside, she could see a broad yellow room the size of a small intimate theatre about halfway packed with people looking as if they were waiting for a show to begin.

At the very front of the room was a small podium accompanied by a medium-sized white marker board. Once she was inside, Zori carefully made her way down a few rows before taking a seat in the far back corner of the room. Nervous energy erupted within her loins, for she didn't have anything to fall back on. She was here. It had begun.

* * *

**JOHANN FAUST RESIDENCE – NORTHERN TRUE CROSS CAMPUS**

It was almost noon and Mephisto had just returned from an extremely mentally exhausting meeting with the Vatican, who seemed to be giving him a hard time once again. They were always asking questions, always attempting to track his every move, it was dreadfully irritating. Nevertheless, he maintained his usual tranquil mood as he moved about his mansion, more excited about the event ahead. He had organized yet another meeting with the recreation and festival board committee, setting in place a required faculty meet-up at the festival. His plan was finally in motion. He would finally seize the opportunity to meet his pre-declared enemy in a formal and elegant fashion.

The darker side of him grew more ecstatic by the day, loving the fun that came out of creating truly organized unruliness. There was a dark passenger there giggling along with his train of thoughts. After the demon made his way upstairs to his office, he mildly closed his door before lightly pacing the room.

Rin, Yukio, and all the other cram school students were pretty much safe, for he had checked on them way earlier both as a guardian and as a spy. Being that he controlled both space and time, he had the ability to literally tear through both, stepping in on other's conversations and actions unnoticed. It was a wonderful and luxurious advantage to have especially when it came to the enemy.

Luckily, he didn't have to do much to open such a tear. He only needed to concentrate his thoughts around his environment as well as the person he desired to surveillance. In his deliciously conniving mind, he ciphered that it was time to do some personal snooping to prepare for his next real encounter with the woman after him.

His crazed grin widened as he flung his hands to his sides, two fingers pointing upward on each. His emerald eyes darkened greatly as he began his ritual.

"Eins…Zwei…Drei," he whispered into the room. Thereupon, a huge bright magenta bubble appeared in front of him, hovering in one spot. Inside the bubble could been seen everyone within True Cross Academy as they went on about their daily lives. The view was zoomed out, as everyone looked like tiny insects marching among the earth.

The demon's heavily salivated tongue washed across his lips as he began searching for the woman named Zori Langer, jittery about being ahead of the game. The bubble whisked in circles, trying to place down a direct location, but something wasn't right. Unexpectedly, the bubble along with its visuals began to twitch sporadically, as if it was on the verge of malfunctioning.

Mephisto's grin merged with confused eyes as he didn't know what was happening. The bubble then began shaking violently, the demon trying to maintain control. Whatever handle he had left abandoned him, as the bubble imploded before exploding in a puff of pink mist, sending his 6'4 frame across the office and slamming into the door.

Though slight pain, Mephisto quickly leaned up from where he had fallen to see that his entire office was now completely disheveled. It wasn't long before loud footsteps and several knocks could be heard at his office door.

"Sir Pheles, we heard a loud boom coming from your office! Is everything alright?" he heard Nathaniel say. He knew Belial was with him as well, quite an embarrassing situation.

"Yes," the demon said sharply, "yes, I'm fine…you two go back to your duties."

"Are you sure?" he heard Belial finally speak. His eye twitched.

"Yes, I am sure. I am perfectly fine, thank you," he said, hinting that he wanted them to go away quickly. With that, he could hear their footsteps trailing back down the stairs. The demon took a staggeringly extensive inhale as he reached up and shuffled his chin hair in absolute bewilderment. What the hell was going on? Was it a coincidence? His spying rituals had never failed, not even on his young brother, Rin. So, why now? Just who the hell was this woman?

From the results before him, he would have to just wait and find out. As bothered as he currently was, his dark passenger encouraged him to look on the bright side. He would soon have the answers he longed to claim, it would just take a little more time than usual. As far as the festival went, everything seemed to be going right on time.

The demon then pushed himself off of the floor before lifting his hands and snapping his fingers. His office was instantly reorganized as he dusted off remnants of pink powder from his suit. As in a video game, Mephisto walked over to his office window and peered out, embracing the daylight and movement outside.

He would never display it but his ego was partially pricked. He would win this game before it even began, that's how determined he was. Just a few more days until the true festivities would begin. His lips curled in satisfaction. Everything was set.

* * *

**Okay, so I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! FEEDBACK is welcomed as always!**

**I'll definitely get some real action going soon. I just wanted to take some time to build things up (also to figure out where exactly I want to go with this). As you know, I'm writing as I go (I know that can be a terrible idea but...I just want to have some fun)**

**I feel like starting a cool poll again:**

**Who is your favorite character from Blue Exorcist and why? Don't be shy lol**

**Anyways, you guys keep being the cool kids!**

**STAY TUNED AND STAY AWESOME!**

**-J**


	5. Go

**HELLO fanfictioners! Here's the list!**

**1) This chapter is much longer than usual. My apologies in advance.**

**2) I want to thank you all for any reviews, favs, alert adds, views, and hits this story has received so far! You guys rock!**

**3) Here's Chapter 5**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**RECAP**

_The demon's heavily salivated tongue washed across his lips as he began searching for the woman named Zori Langer, jittery about being ahead of the game. The bubble whisked in circles, trying to place down a direct location, but something wasn't right. Unexpectedly, the bubble along with its visuals began to twitch sporadically, as if it was on the verge of malfunctioning._

_Mephisto's grin merged with confused eyes as he didn't know what was happening. The bubble then began shaking violently, the demon trying to maintain control. Whatever handle he had left abandoned him, as the bubble imploded before exploding in a puff of pink mist, sending his 6'4 frame across the office and slamming into the door._

_Though slight pain, Mephisto quickly leaned up from where he had fallen to see that his entire office was now completely disheveled. It wasn't long before loud footsteps and several knocks could be heard at his office door._

_"Sir Pheles, we heard a loud boom coming from your office! Is everything alright?" he heard Nathaniel say. He knew Belial was with him as well, quite an embarrassing situation._

_"Yes," the demon said sharply, "yes, I'm fine…you two go back to your duties."_

_"Are you sure?" he heard Belial finally speak. His eye twitched._

_"Yes, I am sure. I am perfectly fine, thank you," he said, hinting that he wanted them to go away quickly. With that, he could hear their footsteps trailing back down the stairs. The demon took a staggeringly extensive inhale as he reached up and shuffled his chin hair in absolute bewilderment. What the hell was going on? Was it a coincidence? His spying rituals had never failed, not even on his young brother, Rin. So, why now? Just who the hell was this woman?_

_From the results before him, he would have to just wait and find out. As bothered as he currently was, his dark passenger encouraged him to look on the bright side. He would soon have the answers he longed to claim, it would just take a little more time than usual. As far as the festival went, everything seemed to be going right on time._

_The demon then pushed himself off of the floor before lifting his hands and snapping his fingers. His office was instantly reorganized as he dusted off remnants of pink powder from his suit. As in a video game, Mephisto walked over to his office window and peered out, embracing the daylight and movement outside._

_He would never display it but his ego was partially pricked. He would win this game before it even began, that's how determined he was. Just a few more days until the true festivities would begin. His lips curled in satisfaction. Everything was set._

**Chapter 5: Go**

The nursing faculty orientation meeting was a very basic run-through of all of the events, procedures, and training Zori would have to participate in during the school year. Zori made sure to jot down all the important points as she would have to dive into this new identity head-first.

The majority of the overview consisted of things that she already knew from her younger years: Potion modification, ritual healing, anointing Holy Water, and other major duties of being a nurse. She, as well as others attending the meeting, was to begin their official standings the very next day.

They were also informed that an email of their scheduled hours would be sent to their created accounts no later than six o' clock in the evening. Zori, like the others, left with a subtle anticipation for what the next day would bring.

**::**

Zori had just spent the last two hours touring the entire campus with her escort Wenton. Though they were not allowed to enter every single building on the grounds, they had a chance to at least preview all the primary sights. As unsure as she was about being there, she had to admit that it was a beautiful environment for learning. Everything surrounding her catered to the student's perception of themselves.

"You must be hungry," Wenton said suddenly as the two of them left one of the campus' main demon-combat laboratories. Zori didn't say much, she just looked up at him, her brown eyes seeping an interest. Before both of them could think, her stomach produced a growl so vicious; Wenton could've sworn she was possessed by a demon herself.

"I take it that you are," he went on to point out. Zori's dark hue made it difficult to see the blush that now blossomed in her cheeks.

**::**

It didn't take long to get to the food court and cafeteria areas, which were located towards the center of the educational zones. The cafeteria looked very much like a cathedral on the outside, as if they were about to attended church. Nevertheless, Zori decided to stay outside and purchase her lunch from one of the nearby student vendors.

Both of them found a nearby table before stepping in the relatively short line. After purchasing their meals, they took a seat and began eating. A nice breeze had developed, countering the harshness of the sun's rays. A healthy flow of students of all ages could be seen passing by and gathering around the lunch tables.

"So," Wenton started, "how are you holding up so far?"

Zori was a bit caught off guard by the question. She knew the answer, but she wasn't sure if it was something she could share with Wenton.

"Good," she let out quickly before taking a small bite into her meat and veggie wrap. Wenton observed her brown orbs as they didn't seem to settle, like she wasn't grounded. The look on her face told him she was hiding something. He spent the next few moments contemplating with himself about whether or not to ask her about it. None of it mattered anyway, as his phone suddenly rang loudly.

With that, Wenton reached into his coat pocket and picked it up.

"Wenton speaking," he said firmly. Zori snuck a peek up at Wenton long enough to see his face change at the voice on the other line. Slowly chewing on her food, she wondered what was up. That's when Wenton grabbed his meal and stood up from the table.

"My apologies, Miss Langer, but I must excuse myself. Do you know your way to your room from here?" he asked, still on the line. Zori was a bit dumbfounded but she nodded nonetheless.

"I'll report with you when I can," he said, before walking off again. It only took a few seconds for him to no longer be in sight. Zori would have to accept that Wenton wasn't going to be there all the time and that she would eventually have to learn to get around the campus on her own. Taking in the thought, the woman took another bite of her wrap. The ambience of the students spreading around her made her feel as if she was in an anti-social air-tight box.

She wasn't quite ready for the crowd. In reaction, Zori reached downward and carefully scooted her chair closer to her table. Trying to gauge her position, the woman took in another mouthful of her lunch. The heaviness of voices immersed the area as Zori kept her head down, trying to avoid anyone's attention. But the attempt at such a task would be broken that very instant.

"Um," said a small, sweet voice in front her, "h-hello."

Zori's eyes rose to see that same little blonde-haired girl she had spotted earlier in the nursing building. The look on the young girl's face was that of determination, much to the woman's slight surprise. Zori could sense the young girl's warm energy rising again as she looked down to see the young girl clenching her fists.

"I'm Sheimi!" she spat out as if she were reciting letters at a spelling bee. It was like she was forcing herself to have the courage to say it. Zori was taken aback by it all, a smile gracing her face.

"I'm…Zori," the woman replied from her table. The light breeze wrestled their hair as Sheimi took a small step closer.

"Um, n-nice to meet you!" her voice amplified through the dense noise. Zori was impressed by the young girl's bravery and anxiousness. She could see that she was reaching out. The woman had to think fast.

"Would you like to sit down?" Zori asked, timidly gesturing towards the seat next to her. Sheimi gasped as her huge green eyes widened.

"Y-yes! I would love too!" she over-exaggerated. The young girl then took a damn near sprint to take her seat next to Zori; their eye contact didn't break once. They just kept smiling at each other.

"A-are you new?" Sheimi finally asked, initiating something.

"Yes, I'm new," Zori answered as she wiped her dangling locks from her face. Sheimi got even more excited.

"Oh, cool! Are…are you a new teacher?" the young girl quizzed. Zori simply shook her head.

"Not exactly. I'll be working in the nursing department," the woman replied as she slowly lifted her new badge. Sheimi stared really hard at it, trying to spot her full name.

"Zori…Langer?" she guessed. The woman smiled warmly and nodded.

"Alright then…Nurse Langer," Sheimi expressed, her innocence pounding. Zori was a bit overwhelmed by the sudden reinforcement of her supposed authority. It was evident by her facial expression.

"Oh! I…I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"No, you're fine," Zori interrupted, letting the young girl know that she wasn't the least bit offended.

"I just have to get used to such a thing is all," the woman explained, trying to make Sheimi feel secure. It worked as the young girl slumped comfortably in her seat.

"So," Zori started, "what do you enjoy studying?"

Sheimi's lips curled into a smile once again as she went on to tell Zori about her love for plant-like demonology. She then shifted the conversation a little to include her love for her grandmother, her friends, being at the school, and becoming a stronger person. Zori was mesmerized by such a young girl. Though she seemed very shy and nervous, much like Zori herself, this girl worked through it. She pointed it out a subtle way but Sheimi understood.

"Yeah, when I first arrived at the school, I was terrified," Sheimi started, "I didn't think I would make any friends."

Zori watched as Sheimi's eyes reminisced about her first year there. They then bounced back.

"But, I ended up making so many wonderful friends and meeting so many wonderful people. This place has really helped me grow a little, but I want to grow more. For all of my friends, Yuki, Rin, everyone," the young girl spilled. Those two names hit Zori's ears like a fly swatter.

"I'm sorry. Did you say Yuki and Rin?" Zori asked, finally speaking again. With that, Sheimi gave a quick nod.

"Yes," she answered, "they are my really close friends. I would do anything for them."

Zori had to keep her composure, as these sounded like the boys she had read about. However, she didn't want to interrogate the girl. As a result, the woman simply took a sip of her bottled water.

"So," Sheimi turned the conversation, "where are you from?"

Zori noticed the curious interest across Sheimi face and realized that she would have to tell people of her background sooner or later.

"Well," she began, "I'm from-"

Zori was just about to answered Sheimi's question when a loud roar could be heard coming from the skies above. Every living being in the food court area froze immediately, looking upward. Some didn't even chew their food. The roar came from over the trees as the source of the noise became visible.

Several hundred feet above them, everyone could see a gargantuan, off white blimp that looked like a cuckoo bird hovering in one spot. It was only a few seconds later that creepy carnival music burst from the blimp's speakers. Then a boisterous popping sound was heard as a colorful flowing cloud dispersed from a shoot at the blimp's rear.

As the students focused their vision, they could soon see that the color flowing cloud was actually a huge dump of papers. Confusion descended into the area as all the papers whirled downward all over the entire campus grounds. As a few hit the ground, students soon exploded in wild laughter and screaming. Some papers even manage to land on top of their heads.

The disorderly chatter made Sheimi want to know what was written on these papers. Zori remained frozen in pure bewilderment as the young girl reached up and snagged a sheet floating nearby. She then reseated herself and read it.

"Oh!" escaped Sheimi's lips. There was a hint of a feverish incite.

"What is it?" Zori finally spoke again. That was right when a paper landed directly in front of her, blocking her lunch tray. The woman quickly turned her eyes towards the paper beneath her before reading the content displayed:

"_Dear lovely ladies and gentlemen of True Cross,_

_It is I, Johann Faust V, head chairman of True Cross Academy. I have sent you this wonderful message to announce True Cross Academy's first official Welcoming Festival. I am so delighted to inform you that the festival will be taking place this Friday all across school grounds. There will be plenty of delicious food, music, entertainment, and other festivities._

_ Ladies and gentleman, I humbly ask that you take this joyous event as an opportunity to put your best foot forward. With that being noted, please dress properly according to the dress code listed below and do not hesitate to plan with your peers. This will be a night to remember and I look forward to seeing you all there. _

_ To end this invitation, I will say one more thing. You all make this academy what it is, as it means the world to me. Enjoy your educational journeys._

_-Johann Faust V"_

Zori could feel an iron anchor slam down at the bottom of her belly. It was…him. The man she was after had written the invitation and was to be at the week's upcoming festival. Her eyes couldn't seem to leave the paper. It was the first indirect encounter she had had with him so far. The sheet of paper before her only made it more real to her.

"Nurse Langer, are you alright?" Sheimi's voice entered the woman's dazed episode. Zori snapped out of it.

"Huh? Oh, yes, I'm fine. I just…didn't know that there was going to be a…festival so soon," Zori stated, brown eyes still lingering at the words.

"Me neither…but…I am happy that the principal has decided to try new things. We've never had a welcoming festival before! I wonder if Rin and Yuki know yet!" the young girl spewed with a grin. Hearing the names again, made Zori follow Sheimi's mouth.

"A-are you going, Nurse Langer? Y-you should come and meet my friends!" she suggested, making Zori slightly gasp. Even as a child, she had never had a stranger offer her a peek into their lives before. It felt…nice. There were two factors shaping in Zori's mind, making her certain of her answer.

"Yes, I guess I'll go. It might be nice to meet some new people," she replied apprehensively. Sheimi let out a small whisk of glee at hearing the woman's answer. That was right when the alarm of the young girl's phone went off. After pulling it off of her waist and looking at the time, she let out a puff of urgency.

"Oh, no! I'm supposed to meet with my friend Bon in exactly two minutes! I have to leave but…I just…I just want to say that it was really nice meeting you and talking with you, and that I hope to see you at the festival on Friday!" Sheimi blurted as she rose from her seat. Zori couldn't stop the smile from planting itself across her face.

"It was nice meeting you too. You will see me there," she said softly. Sheimi beamed happily in return.

"That's great! Goodbye, Nurse Langer!" the young girl said, cheerfully waving goodbye. Zori returned the wave as she watched Sheimi scurry off hurriedly. She was such a nice young girl that reminded Zori of herself in her younger years. However, this girl looked to have had a little more strength than she ever had. It was as if Sheimi had invisible straps that pulled Zori towards her. It was most certainly strange and she left that conversation feeling an undeniable sense of encouragement.

Then the endless thoughts of what was possible weighed down in the rows of her mind. Maybe, just maybe, she could do more than she thought was possible. As her mind rested around such thoughts, she didn't heed the appearance of her lunch tray, as well as any festival papers on her table, now lifting up and floating in midair.

They were just about half-way above her head when she finally gave it her attention. In panic, she completely shut down her thoughts and the papers, along with the tray, latched onto gravity once again before falling back down on the table.

Zori spun her head in every direction, praying inside that no one had seen what had just occurred. Much to her hearty luck, all of the students and other faculty members around were too distracted by all of the flyers still descending from the sky. Exhaling in extreme relief, Zori grabbed one of the flyers and her lunch tray before getting up to dispose of her trash.

After folding the flyer, she slipped it into her pant pocket before heading back towards her dorm.

* * *

**JOHANN FAUST – NOTHERN TRUE CROSS CAMPUS**

Mephisto watched with pure amusement as his blimp continued to spill festival flyers all over the school campus. His plan was in motion. Once again, he had been in and out of meetings for not only the festival but plans for the school year when it came to the Illuminati upon request of the Vatican.

While he wasn't particularly ecstatic about such awareness, he did understand why the Vatican wanted to address such an issue. His tired, emerald eyes took in the sight as the little papers trickled all the way down among the students.

It brought his attention back to the present once more as his scheme would be quite promising. The demon calmly sipped on his chamomile tea with honey as he went through everything he had set up in his mind.

All was interrupted, when a very audible, aggressive knock could be heard at his office door. Mephisto slightly turned his head as he uncrossed his legs, turning around in the chair.

"Yes?" he replied, loud enough for whoever was on the other side to hear. No voice answered, just more knocking. The demon let out a small sigh of frustration, already having a feeling of who it was. With that, Mephisto set down his cup of tea before trailing his room to answer the door. Upon opening it, he wasn't all too surprised to see a pack of red-blonde ombre hair whoosh passed him and enter his office without asking.

"Good afternoon to you as well, Shura, please…come right in," he sarcastically spat with an exhausted tone at the female standing before him.

"What are ya plannin', clown?" the pale-skinned, lavender eyed woman asked in accusation, as if she was used to it. She stood there before him in her fire engine red bikini top along with denim mini-shorts, white thigh-high stockings, and burnt sienna knee high boots, hands on her hips.

"Shura, I can assure you that I have absolutely no idea as to what you are talking about," the demon replied blankly.

"No, ya know exactly what I'm talkin' about," the female retorted. The demon simply let out a sigh.

"No, Shura, I do not. Now, what is it that is so important that you must come at such a time barging onto my premises unannounced and childishly banging on my door?" Mephisto said, carelessly returning to his desk to sit.

"What yer doin'," Shura snapped, the feisty energy made Mephisto grin halfway.

"And what is it, exactly, that I'm doing, Shura?" the demon simply asked, legs crossed and tea cup in hand. The red-head huffed at the fact that she couldn't pinpoint anything directly to him at the moment. With that, she looked down at her feet before looking him in the eye.

"Why are ya havin' such a big festival out of nowhere? Ya never did this before," Shura threw out, judgment ready in her gaze.

"Ding!Ding!Ding! We have a winner!" Mephisto perked up over his desk, "That's right, Shura! I have never done this before, so what is the issue?"

"Why now?" the woman shot out.

"Why not now?"the demon shot back with a smirk. Shura had had enough.

"Mephisto, I'm goin' to find out what yer doin' and eventually get down to the bottom of this," Shura declared, making the demon laugh out loud. The woman scowled at the sound his deep voice bouncing throughout the room.

"Ha-ha, you do that, Shura. Go right ahead and do as you like. You won't find anything," Mephisto implied with a light shrug. For the next three seconds Shura stared him down, not bothering him in the least.

"Does this have somethin' to do with Rin?" she let out. Mephisto took yet another deep breath with a smile.

"Shura, how many times do I have to tell you? It is just a festival. Rin has nothing to do with anything I'm arranging for the event," the demon explained.

"And what is it that yer…arrangin'?"

"Well…festival activities, of course," Mephisto answered with a giggle.

"And what type of activities are those?" Shura quizzed harshly. The demon didn't want to bicker any longer.

"Shura, I will not to continue sitting here, in my own abode, whilst being interrogated for the rest of the day, especially by someone in such a position as yours," he said irritably before standing up from his desk and walking towards the door. Shura didn't say a word; she just let her eyes bleed into him.

"Now, if you don't mind, I have quite a few things to cover today. Belial will show you the way out, and I will see you at the festival," the demon spoke with a wide grin while holding his door open.

Shura puffed in anger as she walked past the demon and stopped in the doorway.

"This ain't over, clown!" she fired. Mephisto remained tranquil, brilliant fangs displayed.

"Goodbye, Shura," he said simply, emerald eyes blinking slyly. With that, Shura stormed down the hallway, her keychain clinking along. The demon smiled as he closed his office door. As he walked back to his desk, his thoughts resumed. The last thing he needed was yet another person on his tail, literally and figuratively.

There would be no point in a woman who was always distrustful towards him potentially stopping him from stopping another woman who supposedly wanted him dead. The logic around all of it was nauseating. To avoid any more distractions, the demon reseated himself at his desk before continuing his tea time.

That's when he noticed a shuffling sound coming from his closet. The entire aura of the area had turned upside down as Mephisto placed his face into his hands. This was not the time.

"Please exit my closet," the demon demanded. A small defined vain protruded from the corner of his forehead. The shuffling stopped instantly. Mephisto waited at his desk, his patience on the edge. His closet doors flung open with a bang to reveal the view of a young-looking pale-skinned male with pointy dark green hair. The darkness of the closet made him look like a phantom.

At this point, things were pretty much tickling at the last straw, yet the demon stilled himself.

"Amaimon" he spoke, "how many times do I have to repeat myself when I say to stay out of my candy stash?"

The lad simply sat there before scooting forward into the daylight beaming thought the office space, revealing that both his mouth and hands were stuffed with numerous wrapped candies. He was caught red-handed.

"Sorry, brother," the young male said lifelessly through the mouthful of treats, his piercing cerulean eyes void of expression. In that moment, Mephisto wanted to give himself a nice prick with his long nails. Why the hell would he ever expect Amaimon, his younger demon brother of earth, to ever obey him for a long period time, especially when it came down to a candy stash? On top of that, it brought up a whole new group of problems.

"I will assume that you heard everything Miss Kirigakure and I have just discussed," he said in a disappointed tone. Amaimon calmly stood, candy still in hand, before stepping out of the closet and into Mephisto's office.

"Yes, brother," he replied plainly. Mephisto took in yet another deep breath. Amaimon must have snuck in while he was away at a meeting.

"From what I've heard, there will be a festival at the school. Will Rin be attending?" Amaimon asked, cutting right to the chase, even though he sounded as if he was reciting words off of a piece of paper. Mephisto felt a bit cornered by this, but he couldn't lie.

"Yes. There is a great chance that he will be attendi- "

"Then I can play with him!" the green-haired demon cut him off ecstatically. Mephisto folded is arms as he turned in his chair.

"No, Amaimon. You mustn't cause any sort of potential destruction during the festival," Mephisto warned. Amaimon's blue eyes finally showed a sign of discouragement with a hint of exasperation.

"Please, brother? Just this once," the young demon pleaded, still chomping on the candies. Mephisto's eyes thinned out.

"Well, from what I see before me, you are incapable of following even the most basic of instructions. So, why would you think that I would simply let you run around, carelessly wrecking my campus and terrorizing my students?" the older demon explained.

"But you never let me play with him," Amaimon poked, not even hearing what his older brother was saying. Mephisto knew that he would only half-listen.

"The answer is no, Amaimon," he shot. Amaimon scowled. Mephisto's eyes widened at his boldness.

"Don't make such faces, Amaimon. They make you look quite unsightly. And since you want to give me such a vibe, you may drop that candy where you stand," Mephisto lightly retorted. Amaimon didn't move.

The silence in the office was humorous. Time seemed to gradually come back into motion as the green-haired demon resumed in action, long black claws reaching for a piece of candy and leisurely moving it towards his mouth.

"Amaimon…I'm going to be nice this time…don't test me. Not today," Mephisto said, shaking his head. The look in his eyes sent the message successfully. With that, Amaimon dropped all of the candy to the floor. It sounded like heavy hail hitting the ground.

"I'm leaving," the younger demon notified dryly as he headed towards the door. A grin slowly crept its way onto Mephisto's face.

"Fine. Just don't destroy anything or anyone while you're out," he added.

"Sure," Amaimon mumbled as he reached for the door handle. Then he stopped, before turning around to face his older brother.

"By the way, brother, who was that woman you kept watching the other day?" the young demon quizzed. Mephisto's grin fell instantaneously. Silence filled the room, but it was anything but humorous.

"That is none of your concern," the older demon spat coldly, surprised at his younger brother's blatant snooping.

"Hm…okay. Goodbye, brother," Amaimon murmured once more before opening the door and exiting the office. Mephisto's glare didn't leave the door. His younger brother could be quite the hassle, but this time he wouldn't allow it. He knew he could seriously hurt him if the time called for it, but he would just be another piece in his puzzled mind. Shura was already one issue too many.

Letting it go, the demon continued with his tea. He had to keep his cool throughout all of this. The announcement was made, he would now have to continue with preparations. This was going to be big. He wanted it to be big. He wanted it to be the wildest distraction the academy had ever witnessed. That definitely kept the grin persistent.

In the distance, he could hear the faint sound of his blimp spreading the news of the event. With satisfaction, he sat in gentle anticipation. The curtain was rising. He had gathered all the puppets on his end. Now all he had to do was let the technical aspects handle themselves. It would be a joy of fun.

* * *

**Yeah the ending paragraph :/**

**Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. FEEDBACK is welcomed as always. **

**I'll try to get the next chapter out this week. You guys enjoy your Thanksgiving! I know I will since I'll be cooking some good food!**

**Another Poll- who is your least favorite character in the Ao No Exorcist series!**

**Til' then, STAY TUNED AND STAY AWESOME!**

**-J**


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